Head of Governance and Controls

Please note this position is based in London and this will be the contractual location of the successful candidate, other locations cannot be considered.

Head of Governance & Controls – Investments

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is looking to develop their career in a challenging and rewarding field within a Governance and Controls 1st line integrated team

A bit about the job:

This role involves managing the Public and Private Market teams and is ideal for someone with strong staff and stakeholder management skills. The successful candidate will be methodical, detail-oriented, and possess a solutions-focused mindset to mitigate risks and enhance controls. A key aspect of the role is supporting team members in their professional development and career progression. All employees play a part in risk management, guided by the Aviva Investors Risk Management Framework and the Operational Risk and Controls "Framework" (ORCM), which is endorsed by the Board and Executive Management. The ORCM emphasises oversight, monitoring, training, and support across the Markets, with 1st line risk and controls representatives providing ongoing governance. The role's key deliverables include working with 1st line teams to complete risk assessments, uphold business standards, represent Public Market and Trading at governance committees, maintain core process documentation and key controls, and manage the ICARE risk and control system. Responsibilities also include preparing papers for and attending the Executive Risk and Audit Committees, conducting regular Risk & Control Self-Assessments, ensuring compliance, supporting audit and compliance reviews, collaborating with the 2nd line Operational Risk team, and contributing to risk mitigation and governance improvement projects. The post also includes line management of the Heads of Public and Private Governance and Controls teams.

Skills and experience we're looking for:

• Bachelor's degree in finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a related field.

• Professional certification (e.g., ACA) is a plus.

• Proven experience in a control or operational risks role within the financial services industry, preferably asset management industry.

• Demonstrable project management skills.

• Knowledge of regulatory requirements for investment management companies

What you'll get for this role:

• Generous pension scheme - Aviva will contribute up to 14%, depending on what you put in

• Eligibility for annual performance bonus

• Family friendly parental and carer's leave

• Generous holiday entitlement plus bank holidays with the option to buy/sell up to 5 additional days

• Up to 40% discount for Aviva products

• Aviva-funded Private Medical Benefit to help you get expert support when you need it

• Brilliant flexible benefits including electric cars

• Aviva Matching Share Plan and Save As You Earn scheme

• 21 volunteering hours per year

Aviva is for everyone:

We're inclusive and welcome everyone – we want applications from all backgrounds and experiences. Excited but not sure you tick every box? Even if you don't, we would still encourage you to apply. We also consider all forms of flexible working, including part time and job shares.

We flex locations, hours and working patterns to suit our customers, business, and you. Most of our people are smart working –spending around 50% of their time in our offices every week - combining the benefits of flexibility, with time together with colleagues.

To find out more about working at Aviva take a look here

We interview every disabled applicant who meets the minimum criteria for the job. Once you've applied, please send us an email stating that you have a disclosed disability, and we'll interview you.

We'd love it if you could submit your application online.  If you require an alternative method of applying, send an email to